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Our last stopover in France is the most staggering and also the most memorable as K and A couldn’t contain their excitement in seeing such a magical place. Meanwhile, H and I are already making plans to come back here, live in our campervan for a month or more while enjoying all the things that Annecy has to offer: lots of walks, cycling, kayaking, canoeing, sailing, climbing swimming, sitting in cafes, feasting on fish, etc etc etc.

Life will be extremely good in Annecy!

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Stopping at the last French town of Annecy before we cross the French-Swiss border.

Finally, we are getting closer to the eastern end of France and these mountains form part of the Alps, a large and expansive mountain range shared with Switzerland, Italy and all the way to Germany and Austria.

No, we’re not in Switzerland yet. This is still France, in the lovely town of Annecy which they call the ‘Venice of the Alps’ or ‘the Pearl of the French Alps’. Geneva is just 35 kms away.

So inspired with our last French campsite for this holiday that we just had to have an aperitivo! But first, a groupie to mark our first day in Annecy.

Beautiful blue sky and the French Alps as our backdrop, what a great place to wrap up the French leg of our European holiday!

Lake Annecy

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Our many stopovers traversing the center of France from west to east. ..

A quick stop at a dépôt vente in Bourganeuf to buy some second hand but high quality items like a large stainless steel pot to cook a large meal for four, branded wine glasses, dish rack for the campervan, some home accessories for K and A for- believe it or not – only 12 euros total!

A walk-stop for Charlie in the Auvergne countryside, great for some wacky photoshoot.

Stopping for a sandwich lunch at an Auvergne countryside.

Our sleep stop for the night – this free campervan aire just behind the Mairie (c ity hall) and church of Montboucher. Our profuse thanks to this tiny village for giving this excellently situated area for travellers like us – good walks, panoramic view of the countryside, a boulangerie-on-wheels (bakery in a van) and clean facilities.

Stopped at the hilltop town of Chamalieres for a quick appointment with a doctor. Here, Charlie is admiring a rich man’s glass mansion under construction that overlooks the city of Clermont Ferrand.

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We wanted K and A to experience the feel of France’s Atlantic Coast so we randomly selected the town of Esnandes, 12 kms north of La Rochelle, as our next destination. Little did we know that our ho-hum first impression of the town was to be overtaken by wonderment and deep admiration when we went hiking along the mussel and oyster-rich ‘Baie d’Aguillon (Bay of Aguillon) and did some exploring of its 13th century fortified church.

On this third stop, we stayed in a campsite where, surprisingly, 9 out of 10 holidaymakers came in their campervans. In fact, we found out that this month of September is the peak of the campervaning season as we are seeing a great number of them everywhere we went and stayed. H even noticed the ‘waving etiquette’ where campervaners wave their hands everytime we approach each other on the road. Hence, this kickstarted the ‘Adams Family Waving Game’ which would get us LOL whether the approaching campervaner would acknowledge the four clowning hands waving at them…. or not!

We originally planned to visit and camp in La Rochelle but the carpark we stayed in last month is being spruced up for an upcoming yachting exhibition so we decided to go somewhere instead. This is the old town of La Rochelle.

Dinner Day 5 – With our miniscule oven and electricity from the campsite, I managed to make individual pizzas for 4 people and a healthy salad on the side. Autumn nights are getting colder and colder so dinner had to be indoors.

Raspberries and Greek yoghurt sweetened with honey is our Michelin-style dessert for the night.

Never have I seen a church that looks like a castle, but it was designed as a fortification against the invading English. This 12thC Romanesque style church of Esnandes is classed as a historic monument.

This 13th century Romanesque church was made into a military fortress during the Hundred Years War (14thC) to protect the region from English invasion.

Grotesques (sculpture of ugly faces) figures at the medieval church of Esnandes.

Story goes that this church was the stopping point of sailors who came to pray for safe voyage before setting out to sea.

These 18th century pews are just one of the main attractions of this extraordinary church.

A sightseeing trip of a town or village is not complete without stopping at the local cemetery. It’s like visiting an open air museum.

At the Bay of Esnandes. Our campervan (on the right), though vintage, looks good from afar.

Saw this group of motorcyclists stopping at the panoramic viewpoint of Bay d’Aguillon. Some preferred to doze off at the first available ground they could lay their weary bodies on.

La peche au carrelet or shore-operated lift net.

Nets are held horizontally by a large fixed structure and periodically lowered into the water, They are dipped into the water and raised again, but cannot be moved. They may hold bait or fitted with lights to attract more fish. (wikipedia)

Photographing baby mussels

K and A going to their fishing net cottage.

The bay at low tide.

The bay at low tide.

The Baie d’Aguillon (Bay of Aguillon) along the Atlantic Coast has been a place for oyster and mussel farming since the 13th century. Currently, it produces 10,000 tons of mussels each year. Naturally, shells of these bivalves are scattered around the bay and Charlie just loves licking them!

Dinner Day 6, instead of dining at a mussel restaurant which is very popular in the area, we concocted our own mussels speciality – moules marinieres (mussels cooked in white wine). Bon Appétit!